Lethe's New Friend
by EternallyNostalgic
Summary: Written as request for my good friend, Ramgigon :D. Lethe has nothing to do on her day off and wanders into the forest. There, she meets an unexpected LITTLE friend that causes BIG trouble, this baby fox may think Lethe's it's mama.
1. Chapter 1

It was just another day in Gallia; it was humid and sunny as usual.

Lethe didn't know what to do, King Caineghis didn't need anything from her, and she had the entire day off. What would she do? She had never had this much free time before.

Ranulf was busy with things for the king, and Mordecai was off somewhere, probably hunting.

Lethe wandered into the jungle, maybe she could find something to hunt and eat, there was nothing else to do anyway.

She walked past oceans of trees and bushes, seeking out a prey of some kind of bird or rabbit. She liked rabbit most; it was always so tender and more flavorful than any other meat. She wished she could find some, but she had no luck.

The sun was warm, cicadas were even buzzing in the tall trees. The humidity was really high too, Lethe liked it though; and it's why she loved Gallia so much.

She finally passed a tall fruit bearing tree, she looked up and drooled at the sight of the juicy fruit. Transforming into her Laguz form, she climbed up the tree with ease, using her claws to grip the rough bark of the trunk. She pulled off a few of the juicy looking orange fruits and ran back down the tree, then she transformed into her half-Beorc form to enjoy them.

She sat beneath the tree in peace, enjoying her fruit. Meat was her favourite food, but fruit was just as good. She nearly finished before a small furry animal crept up beside her, whimpering. She glared at it angrily, how dare this creature ruin her good feast! Even worse, it looked up at her with beady little eyes, begging for the last piece of fruit in her hand.

She scoffed at it and shoved it away with her arm, "It's mine, find your own." She said coldly.

The small red animal only whimpered more, crawling back to her side. Upon closer inspection, she noticed it was a fox, a baby one at that, a kit.

It held up its paw, still whimpering.

She looked at it, it was covered in blood, its paw was struck by an arrow it seemed.

"Why would a human do this to you?" she asked softly, beginning to feel bad for the little animal. It was still very young, even if she normally hunted and ate these animals, she felt sad that someone would shoot at it like this. She winced a bit as she pulled the arrowhead out from deep underneath it's skin, the little kit seemed pleased that she did so.

The little fox jumped into her lap, startling her.

"No." She said, picking it up and setting it on the ground beside her.

She stood up and began to leave, taking a bite of the last of her fruit.

Unfortunately, she could hear it following behind her, whimpering.

"Go home. Go find your mother." She told it, not looking back at it while she spoke.

It only made it run faster to catch up with her. Lethe rolled her eyes, she didn't want to transform, but this fox was beginning to bother her. She transformed into her cat form and ran ahead of the fox, trying to loose it in the twisty trees of Gallia's forest.

The fox ran just as fast, still keeping up with her.

She finally found the shore, where the ocean met the land of Gallia.

Lethe looked around; she was at a dead end. How could she loose the kit now?

She spotted a rock that poked out a few feet above the rushing tides; it looked slick with algae and difficult to jump onto, though.

"_It's worth a shot…"_ Lethe thought to herself, looking behind to see the baby fox, it had nearly caught up with her. She took a large leap and landed on the rock, her paw slipped as she landed on the slick surface and Lethe stumbled; she quickly took a grip with her claws and looked up at the fox again.

"_Just try and catch me now."_ Lethe smiled to herself, she thought she could just sit there until the fox decided to go home.

The little kit whimpered and its amber eyes glistened with sad tears.

Soon the fox walked into the tide; the waves pulled on the little kit roughly. It squealed as the rushing water tried to pull it in.

Lethe watched, getting a bit worried. It just wanted to be near her; but Lethe just couldn't understand why.

She heard a yelp and shot her head in the direction it came from. The little fox was pulled underneath the water violently! Water filled its lungs and its yelps became gargled and strained.

Lethe gasped in her cat form. _It can't swim! _She thought; no living thing should die like this! It looked horrible to watch the waves just devour the poor thing!

Thinking quickly, she leapt in the water after it, she swam better in her animal form than her beorc form; but the tides made it difficult to swim in one direction.

Soon the little fox came into sight and she latched onto it with her mouth and carried it back up to the shore.

-x-

Lethe smiled when the little red fox opened its eyes and was greeted by her in her half-Beorc form.

"You're awake." She said. "Good, I thought you had drowned."

She stood up and began to walk away. The little kit whimpered and tried to follow again.

Lethe laughed a bit. "You don't give up do you?"

She scooped the fox up and held it by the fluff of its neck. The fox seemed to bark happily at her.

She laughed at the kit, somehow, it was cute.

"Alright, maybe you can stay with me. It seems I have no choice anyway."

She smiled as the little kit barked happily at her again as she walked home with it in her arms.

-x-

"A fox, you're keeping it?" Ranulf raised an eyebrow at his female companion.

Lethe petted the fox affectionately as he stared at her.

"It wouldn't leave me alone, what could I do?"

Ranulf shook his head and shrugged. "I dunno. It is cute."

Lethe snarled in reply.

"What'd I say?"

"He was hurt by a beorc weapon… And its mother wasn't around either, so…"

The fox drifted off to sleep on her lap.

"What will you name it?" Ranulf asked.

"Naming it? I am releasing it in the morning."

"What, why? I thought you rescued it, thought you liked it."

"It needs to go home; King Caineghis would rather not have food in the castle… Not as a pet." Lethe smiled embarrassingly.

Ranulf shrugged. "Ah well… Good night, Kitsune."

He pet the kit and left the room.

Lethe raised a brow.

"Kitsune…?" _So you're naming it now?_

She chuckled to herself, looking down at the kit.

"Well… King Caineghis wouldn't mind if I kept you for a few days, right?"

**Fin.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This was going to be a one-shot, but hey. =)**

Morning seemed to come quickly for Lethe. She sat up from her cot with a stretch, yawning. Everything looked in place, until she looked down on the ground.

Her favourite bamboo mat had been torn to shreds, her extra clothing was scattered everywhere in the room and torn in places, and orange-red hair littered the ground all around every inch of the room.

Lethe's jaw dropped. "Wha… What have you done!?"

She leapt out of bed and glared at the fox, picking up her clothing and growling at the shredded bamboo mat. The little kit simply barked and cuddled against her leg.

"This isn't funny, Kitsune. What will everyone think when they see my room like this?"

As if on cue, there was a knock on Lethe's door. She gasped and scooped up the fox, mat and clothing; throwing them all under her bed sheets to hide them.

"C-come in!" She called, and the door opened to reveal Ranulf.

Lethe sighed of relief. "Oh, it's just you…"

Ranulf looked confused, but came in anyway. "Is… Something wrong?"

Lethe growled and flung the bed sheets onto the ground, revealing the fox and his destruction.

Ranulf laughed. "Wow, he's been busy."

Lethe gave him a glare. "Yes. And for your information, it's a _'she'._"

"My mistake." Ranulf laughed. "So… What are you going to do? King Caineghis wanted you to see him, and he probably will mistake our little friend here for lunch."

Lethe slumped onto her bed and Kitsune cuddled up next to her.

"I have to get rid of her; she'll only be trouble if I don't."

"Hmm, it's too bad. I kind of liked the little thing."

Lethe stood up again and placed Kitsune in Ranulf's arms. He looked at her skeptically.

"If you like her so much: you release her. She'll only come back to me if I do it."

Ranulf shrugged. "Alright, if you say so, Lethe." He grinned and removed his hat; he placed the little kit on top of his head and put the hat back on. He had to keep the fox hidden until he got to the forest.

"Don't move in there!" He whispered, and he left the room.

Lethe chuckled to herself. That was an odd way to hide Kitsune, but it might work.

She dressed into her usual green outfit and left the room to find Caineghis.

-x-

Ranulf walked far into the forest before finding a clearing, he took off his hat and picked Kitsune up from the scruff of her neck. When he set her gently on the ground, the little kit whimpered at him and snuggled against his leg.

"Ah, poor little guy… Err, girl." Ranulf looked around, there didn't seem to be any other fox around.

"Hmm, usually this place is full of animals… I wonder what-"

Ranulf's thoughts were broken when he heard Kitsune start to bark fiercely at something on the ground, he leant down and examined the damp soil. Something sparkled in the sunlight that sifted through the trees, Ranulf picked it up.

"An arrowhead," Ranulf whispered. "but what is something from a beorc weapon doing all the way out here?" Kitsune sniffed the ground suspiciously where the arrowhead was.

"… This can't be good."

-x-

Lethe reached Caineghis' quarters as quickly as she could, Ranulf made it sound like something important was going on. She also couldn't help but hope Ranulf was taking good care of Kitsune.

"_Wait, why do I care? He's putting her where she belongs…" _Lethe shook her thoughts away from her little friend for now, there were far more important things to be done right now.

Lethe pushed open the large oak doors to her King's room softly, slowly stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

Caineghis smiled at her warmly. "Lethe, you've made it. I was wondering if Ranulf got distracted on his way to you."

Lethe smiled warmly back at him. "You needed something, sir? Ranulf made it sound urgent."

"Ah, right. As you know, we are allied with Crimea and are currently helping rebuild the country to its former glory."

Lethe nodded, listening closely to every word he said.

"I need you and Ranulf to head over there and help. Build a house or two, a beorc school, something nice."

"Yes sir, but, don't we have troops rebuilding right now? Why send us?"

Caineghis sighed. "It is… More work than I expected, a recent bandit attack in Crimea has put our work two months behind us…"

Lethe growled. "Beorc bandits… Those curs!"

"Now, now, please don't let your dislike of beorc come between this job, Lethe."

"I know, sir…"

Caineghis chuckled a bit. "Good. Now then, go find Ranulf and take leave to Crimea."

Lethe nodded and turned on her heel to leave the room, opening the large oak doors and closing them again softly.

-x-

Lethe left the castle of Gallia soon after visiting her room and tidying the mess Kitsune had made earlier that morning, while she was there, she packed some things she thought her and Ranulf would need for the trip. Lethe didn't quite know where to start searching for her companion, she didn't know if he had even come back from the forest or not.

"Well, there's no sense in waiting here…" She said aloud to herself, beginning the walk towards the forest leading to Crimea.

Lethe hiked for awhile, keeping her eyes alert for Ranulf, soon she changed to her cat form to attempt sniffing him out. She still couldn't find much trace of where he was this way, after trying that technique; she tried calling his name, still in her cat form. If it were heard by anyone else; it would just be roaring.

Finally she shifted back to her half-human form. "Ranulf! Ranulf, are you here?"

She knew this forest well, every twisted tree, every rock, leaf, and insect. So why was it that Ranulf couldn't be found?

"Maybe he's already gone back to the castle…" She sighed.

And then she heard a noise, a rustling of leaves.

"Ranulf?" Lethe whirled around several times to find the source of the noise.

Her ears began to twitch as she heard what sounded like a bowstring.

"_Humans…? Here, now?" _Lethe found herself worried.

If there were beorc in Gallia, what would they want? And why would anyone dare enter the country without sending word first?

In a second, Lethe felt something silently pierce her arm. She moaned in pain.

"What the-!?" She grasped her arm, it started to bleed. "How dare you! Hiding in the trees like a coward!?"

She wanted to transform and rip apart whatever it was that shot an arrow at her, but she suddenly felt faint. It seemed like the world around her was spinning; swirling into a dizzy spell of brown and green colours.

And then she collapsed.

-x-

Ranulf laughed at Kitsune as she followed him along the windy forest trail.

"I can't believe Lethe wanted to get rid of you, you're so… Cute."

He turned around and picked her up, setting her on his shoulder.

"She's going to be mad that I didn't leave you to go find your family. But hey, that hasn't stopped me before."

Kitsune gave him a curious look. He just laughed again.

"Ah ha-ha. Let's try to find Lethe, I'm sure she's already halfway to Crimea by now…"

Ranulf had already gotten his orders from the King; he figured Lethe would have gone straight to Crimea after hearing her duties.

Kitsune began to bark fiercely at something as they reached a clearing.

"What? You sure are alert, girl." Kitsune jumped down off his shoulder and onto the ground, then leaped behind a bush and began barking even louder.

"… What are you up to?" Ranulf cautiously walked around the bush to find Kitsune.

He found something else he wasn't expecting.

"Lethe!" Ranulf cried, her arm was bleeding and she was unconscious on the forest's damp soil.

He reached into his bag and found a vulnerary, opening the satchel and rubbing the ointment on her arm. Then he saw the arrow that struck her, the point still inside her flesh.

"Wha-? This isn't like you, Lethe… How did this happen?"

Lethe winced a bit when he pulled the point out of her arm; he knew she would be okay now. But still… He worried, Laguz don't use weapons, which would mean there are beorc in Gallia; and not very nice ones, obviously.

Kitsune licked Lethe's face, looking a bit worried.

"Uhn…" She moaned, regaining consciousness.

"Lethe, what happened?" Ranulf asked.

Lethe slowly opened her eyes, she didn't look too happy to find Kitsune right in her face.

"What is she doing with you still!?" Lethe snarled.

Ranulf smirked to the kit. "I told you she'd be mad."

Lethe sat up quickly, surveying the area. Then she felt pain shoot up her arm again.

"Ah, now I remember… Ranulf, I was attacked. There are humans here, I don't know what they want, or what thy are doing here or-"

Ranulf put up his hand to shush her. "I know. I found an arrowhead back near the entrance."

Kitsune licked her paw, still wrapped in bandages from when Lethe had found her.

"… That's right."

"What's right?" Ranulf inquired.

"Kitsune had a wound from an arrow when I found her."

Ranulf's face lit up with a look of realization.

"Oh, you said she was hurt by a beorc weapon, I remember now."

Lethe nodded, standing up and picking up Kitsune.

"Maybe we should go inform King Caineghis…"

Ranulf tapped his chin in thought. "… No. Let's get to Crimea; the King would be disappointed if we came back before helping out there. And perhaps Elincia could help us out somehow."

Lethe sighed. "I'm not sure if she would, Ranulf. She's a beorc too…"

"True. But we are still allies with her. She couldn't refuse a cry for help from us."

They began walking the road to Crimea again, continuing the conversation.

"… I hope you're right, Ranulf."

**To be continued…**


End file.
